Whether you’re a parent, child or grandparent, let’s face it – you love chocolate! If you’re constantly hunting for new recipes and ideas to satisfy your sweet tooth, then get a set of silicone moulds and transform your kitchen into a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Take silicone moulds, the right ingredients and a pinch of imagination…

Whether it’s for Harry’s birthday treat or Emily’s teenage party, you’ll be armed and ready thanks to some practical, user-friendly silicone moulds! With a range of shapes to choose from – round, square, you name it! – you can let your imagination run wild. And even with 15 hungry children to cater for, you’re sure to win the day. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, almond- or hazelnut-filled chocolate, even chocolate lollipops – anything is possible!
Become everyone’s favourite host by experimenting with delicious, fun recipes. Place a strawberry or marshmallow in the centre of your mould, cover with melted chocolate and insert a small stick. Once the chocolate has cooled, even the pickiest kids will all be clamouring for these incredible, homemade chocolate lollipops! You can even pop them in the freezer to make mini chocolate lollies. Watch out, though, as they’re sure to come back for more!
And when the rest of the family starts to get jealous, you can appease them with a whole range of treats using different fruits or pieces of salted butter caramel!

Whether you’re a foodie, a health-lover or a weight-watcher, grilling is for you! From romantic suppers to family dinners, grilling retains all the taste and all the nutrients, and is endlessly versatile – whether you’re cooking meat, fish or vegetables.

Great for parties, great for your figure!

Get the whole family gathered around the grill for fish, seafood, meat and vegetables cooked without any added fat! Needless to say, if you’re watching your figure or your health, opt for lean cuts of meat as opposed to fatty varieties like sausages. Use your imagination and put vegetables centre stage – a platter of vegetable kebabs, for example, will impress all your guests old and young! Grilling helps to retain all the vitamins and water-soluble minerals – even the heat-sensitive ones, like vitamins A, C, B1, B5 and B9.

No longer do you have to wait for Summer to enjoy a good barbecue! Indoor grills can be used all year round and are perfect for parties and family get-togethers, with everyone gathering round to grill their own choices of meat or vegetables. And don’t forget to throw in a few homemade sauces –your traditional homemade mayonnaise (link to mayo article), for instance, is sure to prove an all-round winner!

With its inimitable taste and reduced GI, nothing beats a slice of toast!

What could be better than the smell of hot toast and coffee in the morning? From rolls and baguette to sliced bread and muffins, you’d be hard put to resist the delicious smell of fresh toast emanating from your toaster. And whether you prefer it with butter, jam or spread, toast has some surprising hidden assets.

Toast – your best breakfast companion

Come rain or shine, you prefer your morning bread toasted. Satisfyingly crunchy, smothered in butter and jam, and filling your home with the delicious aroma of hot bread, toast helps you start the day right. Quite apart from being delicious, did you know that your daily toast has another asset that few people know about? Its glycemic index (GI) is lower than that of fresh bread!
When bread is toasted, its water content moves to the surface. This causes something called starch retrogradation, which decreases the GI. If you’re going for foods with the lowest possible GI, choose breads made from semi-wholemeal or wholemeal flour as opposed to white flour. And if you’re watching your figure or want to eat healthier, then toast’s little ‘bonus’ will no doubt get you reaching for your toaster more often, knowing that you can toast away to your heart’s content!

Served with seafood, cured meat or in a salad, everybody loves mayonnaise! And just like the madeleine in Proust’s novel, a good homemade mayonnaise will take you right back to childhood memories of summer holidays and picnics in the sun. But how to guarantee perfect mayonnaise every time? Simply follow our tips to become a mayonnaise pro…

The right tools for the job

You don’t have to sprain your wrist to make good mayonnaise anymore! There are some practical gadgets that will do
the job for you and guarantee superb results. Choose a good hand blender that will whisk your mayonnaise to perfection at the touch of a button. No need for hours of exhausting hand-whisking, and you can simply adjust the blender speed as you add each new ingredient.

Remember the golden rules

Here are some other top tips for delicious, mouth-watering mayonnaise:
- Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature beforehand
- Add your salt at the start
- Mix your oil in gradually, a small amount at a time
- Use a small mixing bowl, as opposed to a large salad bowl
- Use quality ingredients, and always make sure that your eggs are fresh.

Whenever you want, however you want, homemade bread is so easy to make and has everything going for it! And if you opt for organic bread, you get to please your taste buds and the environment all at the same time!

I know exactly what’s in my homemade bread!

One of the undoubted advantages of homemade bread is that you know exactly what’s gone into it. Use organic flour and yeast if possible, and experiment with different recipes. Instead of the usual plastic-wrapped loaf from the supermarket, treat yourself to your own organic bread, made with love and ready and waiting for you at breakfast time. And if you do opt for organic ingredients, you’ll be getting a daily boost of vitamins and minerals with none of those nasty chemicals and pesticides.

To inject even more fun into your bread making, get the whole family involved! Ask your children to ‘use their loaf’ by letting them choose their own favourite recipe. If you make small quantities regularly, you’ll always be sure to have some fresh, homemade bread in the house. What’s more, once you get into the habit of making your own bread on a regular basis, you’ll start to notice how much money you’re saving! Now that’s really using your loaf!

Brazil is the host of this year’s World Cup, so what better time to discover Brazilian cuisine?!

You can’t have missed it – the host of this year’s World Cup is Brazil. Whether you’re a football fan or not, why not make the most of the occasion by discovering the joys of Brazilian cuisine?

Brazilian cuisine – delicious and diverse

There isn’t just one Brazilian cuisine but lots of them, with Brazil’s many diverse influences resulting in a subtle blend of European, African and Native American. The national dish of Brazil is the world-famous Feijoada, a simple but tasty combination of rice, pork and black beans. Just throw in some fresh herbs and paprika, leave to simmer, and let your kitchen overflow with the delicious aroma! Often compared with France’s pork and bean Cassoulet, a Brazilian Feijoada is sure to get everyone’s vote!

For the meat lovers among you, a Brazilian Churrasco – or traditional barbecue – is perfect for those World Cup evenings gathered around the TV. Considered something of an art in Brazil, this way of grilling meat will turn your barbecues into a local legend! For added authenticity, serve with Farofa – manioc flour fried in butter or oil. A hearty dish, for sure, but one that’s truly typical of Brazil. And don’t forget to end your meal with the authentic Brazilian dessert known as Paçoca – a rich, fudge-like sweet made with ground peanuts.